Definition

Verb: - To remember or recollect past events, people, or times with a deep sense of emotion, nostalgia, or sentimentality. It implies a reflective and often melancholic or tender feeling associated with the memory.

Usage

• The verb hoài cảm is used to describe the act of emotionally reminiscing. It is often used in literary, reflective, or poetic contexts.
• It conveys more than simple recollection; it carries a strong emotional tone of longing, fondness, or gentle sadness for the past.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Bà cụ ngồi bên cửa sổ, hoài cảm về những ngày tháng thanh xuân tươi đẹp. (The old woman sat by the window, remembering with emotion her beautiful youth.)
  • Anh ấy thường hoài cảm mỗi khi nghe lại bản nhạc cũ. (He often recollects with emotion whenever he listens to that old song again.)
  • Bài thơ này khiến tôi hoài cảm về quê hương. (This poem makes me remember my homeland with nostalgia.)

Advanced Usage

• "Sống trong hoài cảm": To live in reminiscence / to be lost in nostalgic memories.
  • Ông ấy dành những năm tháng cuối đời sống trong hoài cảm. (He spent his final years living in reminiscence.)
• "Một nỗi hoài cảm": A feeling/sentiment of nostalgia (Note: In this nominalized form, it describes the emotional state itself).
  • Một nỗi hoài cảm mênh mang ùa về trong lòng cô. (A vast feeling of nostalgia washed over her.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hoài niệm (Verb/Noun): To reminisce / reminiscence. Very close in meaning to hoài cảm, often used interchangeably, though hoài niệm can sometimes feel slightly more focused on the act of remembering itself.
• Luyến tiếc (Verb): To regret, to feel sorry about missing something. While it involves emotion about the past, it emphasizes regret more than tender recollection.
• Nhớ thương (Verb): To remember with love and longing. Shares the emotional component but is more directly tied to missing a person or place.

Synonyms

• Nhớ lại với xúc cảm: To remember with feeling.
• Thương nhớ quá khứ: To fondly remember/long for the past.

Related Idioms

• "Hoài cảm vấn vương": Lingering nostalgic sentiments. This phrase intensifies the feeling of being emotionally attached to and unable to let go of memories.
  • Những kỷ niệm cũ để lại trong lòng anh một nỗi hoài cảm vấn vương. (The old memories left in his heart a lingering sense of nostalgia.)

1. Remember (recollect) with emotion